USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 28
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but also by a large circle of friends. His wife died at the age of sixty-seven.
Hezekiah B. Morse, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Massachusetts, came to Madison County, and settled in the town of Eaton near the village of Eaton, where he took up a large tract of new and wild land. This was when the Indians were still occu- pants of this country, and he witnessed the execution of the Indian chief Antoine at Morrisville in 1823. There were also at that time large numbers of all kinds of wild ani- mals in the woods, some of which were valu- able for food. The wife of Mr. Morse used to card, spin, and weave, and make the clothing for her family with her own hands, as also did the mother of the subject of this sketch. Many a man still living can well remember the usefulness of the women of the past, and their industrious and good-natured forbearance with conditions that would now certainly be considered adverse. Old - fashioned mothers and grandmothers are now almost a thing of the past, and it is nearly impossible to part with them without regret. Their music was that of the spinning-wheel; and, although it was far from being always rhythmical, yet it was far from being unpleasant, at least to the ears of the lords of creation. Late in life Hezekiah B. Morse removed to Oxford, Che- nango County, and there spent his last days. Grandfather Shaw died near Northampton, Mass., in middle- life; and his widow died at the home of the subject of this sketch, when ninety-six years old.
Albert William Morse was educated in the
district schools, and also at the academy at Eaton. He remained at home until he was fifteen, and then took charge of the home farm, which he owns, and to which he has added until he now has two hundred and ten acres. Upon this excellent farm he carries on general farming, stock-raising, and dairy- ing, having a herd of twenty-five cows and a flock of one hundred and fifty sheep, some of them pure-blood Southdowns and some full- blood Shropshires. Besides the three lines of agriculture mentioned he also has about ten acres of hops. Of all these branches he is making a grand success, and is abundantly able to answer in the affirmative the question, "Does farming pay? "
Mr. Morse was married December 16, 1856, to Levantha Brightman, of Brookfield, Madi- son County. She was born in 1835, and is a daughter of Joseph Brightman and his wife, the former of whom was a farmer of Madison County. He and his wife reared a family of three children, one son and two daughters, all of whom are living. Joseph Brightman died in Chautauqua County, when sixty-five years of age, and his wife some years previously, when quite young. Mr. and Mrs. Morse have had three children, one of whom is living, Albert William, Jr., born in 1864, and residing at home.
Mr. Morse and his wife are members of the Congregational church, and in politics he is a Republican. He has been honored by his fellow-citizens by election to the office of Supervisor, and to several minor offices, fill- ing all with credit to himself and satisfaction
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to all concerned. He is a very pleasant, pop- ular man; has a fine farm and a beautiful home, about one mile from the village of Eaton; and is highly respected by all who know him for his progressive character as a farmer and his solid, substantial citizenship.
EORGE, E. NASH, general mer- chant and popular orchestra leader of Poolville, was born in Hamilton, Au- gust 16, 1838. This town was also the birth- place of his father, Elijah F. Nash, who came into the world December 11, 1814, and was a son of Thomas Nash, a native of Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., born March 24, 1788. Elijah Nash, father of Thomas, and great-grandfather of George E., came from Massachusetts, of which State he had been a resident and was probably a native, to New York about the year 1797, accompanied by his wife, Hannah Thaycr before marriage, and eight of their nine children, their eldest son remaining in Massachusetts. The entire jour- ney was made with teams bringing all their worldly goods. Mr. and Mrs. Nash were among the pioneers of the town of Hamil- ton. Here they made their home, and here found their resting-place in death. The boy Thomas, one of those who came to Hamilton, was bred a farmer. Starting out for himself in early manhood, with two strong arms and hands inured to toil and with little else but a will to work, he invested in fifty acres of land near Poolville. After working on this tract a few years, he changed it for a neigh-
boring farm. Unfortunately, about this time, by giving his name as security for another man's debt, he lost his property, and was obliged to begin anew. Later he bought a farm of sixty acres at Hamilton Centre. Here he died in his fifty-fourth year. The maiden name of his wife was Sally Fay. Her parents were Elijah and Martha (Robinson) Fay, of Massachusetts, where she was born. Surviving her husband some years, she died at the home of her son Clark at Hubbardsville, at the age of sixty-three. In the early days, when she was bringing up her family of eight children, the country people lived chiefly on the products of their land; and she used to card, spin, and weave wool and flax to make their clothing. While as yet there were no railroads or canals in New York, Albany was their principal market and depot of supplies. Later Utica was the market. When the Che- nango Canal was finally built, it became the great highway for traffic. Elijah F. Nash lived with his parents until his marriage, at the age of twenty-two. The first few years after that he worked on the farm of his wife's father, and next rented a farm in Brookfield two years, then one in Hamilton for one year. Going from there to Cayuga County, he rented a farm on shares two years. Afterward he bought seventy acres of land in Smyrna, Che- nango County. Selling this farm at an ad- vance three years later, he bought one of ninety acres, to which he subsequently added forty-five acres, and lived on it fifteen years, when he sold out again, and moved to Hub- bardsville, where he purchased another farm,
Enat by H.B. Holla Song VereIrak
Click Chappell
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on which he lived until 1892, at which date he bought his present home in Norwich. He has been twice married, and has three chil- dren - George E., Charles B., and Almeron T. His first marriage was in 1836, with Lucina Blanding, who was born in Brookfield, a daughter of Franklin and Mary (Holbrook) Blanding. She died May 28, 1877. Late in the same year he married Mrs. Almira (Hall) Langdon, daughter of Aaron and Philinda (March) Hall, and widow of George Langdon. She was born in Oxford, Chenango County. For many years a Democrat, Mr. Nash joined the Republicans when that party was formed.
George E. Nash received his education in the district schools and in the seminary at Whitestown. At the age of sixteen he be- came a clerk in the store of Theron Nye, at Hubbardsville, where he remained about a year. After a period of school life came another year of work behind the counter, in a store at Norwich. Coming to Poolville in 1861, he entered into mercantile business, in which he has since been continuously and suc- cessfully engaged. He married January 1, 1861, Henrietta Richmond, who was born in Hamilton, a daughter of Damon and Sophia (Thompson) Richmond, pioneers of the town. They have six children: Frederick R., Post- master at Poolville, and a commercial travel- ler representing Mosher Brothers of Utica; Walter F., a graduate of Bellevue Medical College, and now practising at Irving, Chau- tauqua County; Gertrude L .; Jessie; George J. ; and Etta. Musical talent is hereditary in the family, some of them being especially
gifted. Gertrude is a teacher of the piano, Jessie of vocal music, while their father has for years been the leader of the well-known "Nash Orchestra, " which is often called on to play on public holidays, at picnics, at Com- mencement exercises, and other occasions, and which has an enviable reputation in Madison and adjoining counties.
Mr. and Mrs. Nash are prominent members of the Universalist church, holding the cheer- ful, optimistic views of life here and hereafter, and exhibiting the generous fraternal spirit characteristic of the followers of Murray and Ballou. In politics Mr. Nash affiliates with the Republicans. He was Postmaster at Pool- ville for sixteen years. He is a stockholder and Vice-President of the First National Bank at Earlville, a member of Hamilton Lodge, No. 120, A. F. & A. M., and of Mokanna Grotto, No. 1, Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm.
WILL CHAPPELL, one of the most prominent and distinguished citi- zens of Oneida, was born in the town of Cazenovia, Madison County, N. Y., April 5, 1845. He has a lineage far back in the history of New England, his great-grand- parents being John and Barbara (Webster) Chappell, of Andover, Conn. Their son, the grandfather of the subject of our present sketch, was born in that town, June 14, 1793, and remained a resident there until 1831, when with his wife and four children, and bringing the household goods and provisions,
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he migrated to New York State, making the journey overland by teams. They stopped at the towns and taverns on their way, but, as they were provided with food, paid only for lodging and the use of a table. After seven days of hard travel they reached Cazenovia, and settled on the sixty-three-acre farm which he had purchased the previous year, paying twenty-three dollars per acre therefor. As he grew successful and acquired more money, he bought small parcels of land adjoining, soon making his farm consist of one hundred and twenty-six acres. He improved the property greatly by putting up good buildings, and at his death, which occurred February 5, 1878, in his eighty - sixth year, left most of this comfortable estate to a grandson, Charles A. Chappell, who died in 1890. The grand- father is buried in Evergreen Cemetery at Cazenovia, where a monument fittingly in- scribed to his memory has been erected by his son, Chester L. Chappell. His family con- sisted of two sons and two daughters, and the maiden name of his wife was Esther Loomis. She was a native of Columbia, Tolland County, Conn., daughter of Asahel Loomis, her mother's maiden name being Woodard. This wife, who was of English origin, died September 5, 1849, aged fifty- two years.
The father of our subject, Chester L. Chap- pell, was born August 21, 1819, at Andover, Conn., and was but twelve years old when he came to Madison County with his parents. At that time there were no railroads in New York State, and the Erie Canal was the great
highway of commerce. He made the best use of what chances he had to secure an education, and attended the schools of Cazenovia and the seminary of that place. At the close of his school years he adopted agriculture as his life pursuit, and at the time of his marriage re- sided on his own farm in the town of Caze- novia, where he remained until the spring of 1879, and then removed to his present pleas- ant home, at No. 12 Sullivan Street, Caze- novia. His farm now contains but forty acres, he having sold parcels of it from time to time. His wife was Miss Sarah Maria Jackson, born in Windham County, Vermont, December 3, 1822, daughter of Jonas and Rachael (Wilson) Jackson. She was but two years of age when her parents died, and was adopted into the family of Jacob F. Streeter. They removed to Massachusetts, and in 1828 came to the town of Fenner, Madison County, where she was brought up.
To Mr. and Mrs. Chester L. Chappell were born seven children: C. Will; John Watson, born August 22, 1847, married, and has three children; Esther Maria, born October 4, 1849, died January 6, 1876, leaving one daughter, Esther M. Davis, who is now an interesting young lady of eighteen years, and a student at the Cazenovia Seminary ; Adoni- ram Judson, born November 14, 1851, died, unmarried, February 23, 1872; George Jack- son, born December 27, 1853, died March 24, 1874; Emma, one of twin girls, born August 12, 1856, is now Mrs. E. E. Torrey, of Oneida, and has a son fourteen years of age; Nellie J., wife of Dr. J. E. Salisbury, of
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Cazenovia, born March 17, 1861, has two little daughters, Helen and Margery.
C. Will Chappell attended the district school and later the Cazenovia Seminary, obtaining a good practical education, although at the age of fifteen he went to work, becom- ing a clerk in the employ of Charles Crandall, dealer in books and stationery, and also pub- lisher of school books. Two years later his father purchased an interest in that store for him, and the firm became Crandall & Chap- pell. The next year his father bought the interest of Mr. Crandall, and the firm was then known as Chappell & Son; but the entire management of the business was left to the son. Afterward the father sold his half- interest to Mr. Watkins; and this firm re- mained until 1866, when Mr. Chappell sold out, and engaged with the firm of Woodworth & Graham, manufacturers of blank books, en- velopes, etc., and went as a commercial trav- eller in their interest for three years through the North-west. At the end of that time he formed a partnership in a book and stationery business in Atchison, Kan., with a Mr. Heim, but sold out in a few months, and returned East. This was in the fall of 1870, and in March of that year he came to the village of Oneida. With Mr. Benjamin E. Chase he started in .a gents' furnishing and clothing business in the Devereaux Building on Main Street. They were so successful from the start that they soon found their store accom- modation insufficient, and moved into the Monroe Opera House Block. In 1877, to- gether with Mr. J. F. Tuttle, they purchased
the business of E. W. Jones (deceased), this being the manufacture of undertakers' goods. Mr. Chappell gave all his attention to this branch, while Mr. Chase attended to the clothing department. In addition to this, they engaged in the sale of caskets to the trade, and in 1879 sold the clothing store, and purchased the casket factory of Maxwell, Mc- Weeney & Co., of Rochester, N. Y. The same year they erected a building in Oneida, and removed the plant hither, established a warehouse in Rochester, and in 1881 a branch house in New York City. In 1879 the firm name was Chappell, Chase, Maxwell & Co., our subject being the President of the corporation.
This company conducted the business most successfully, enlarging the plant from time to time, until in 1890 it was purchased by the National Casket Company, the latter being a corporation capitalized for three millions of dollars under the manufacturing act of the State of New York of 1848. The National Casket Company also purchased the Stein Manufactory of Rochester, N. Y., the plant of Hamilton Lemon, Arnold & Co. of Alle- gheny, Pa., the Boston Casket Company of Boston, Mass., and the Maryland Burial Case Company of Baltimore, Md. This multiplic- ity of enterprises has been under one man- agement since. Mr. Chappell was chosen Vice-President and general manager of the company, and still holds his position. Since then the National Casket Company have es- tablished branch houses at Chicago, Ill., Pittsburg, Pa., Brooklyn, and Albany, N. Y.,
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having also purchased a factory at Hoboken, N.J .; and under the skill, tact, and intelli- gence of Mr. Chappell, who has to a large extent the supervision and general manage- ment of the whole, the business has increased to its present enormous proportions, and has proved a very successful undertaking. His early and thorough business training, and the careful attention which he has given to all details in the various business enterprises with which he has been associated, have enabled him to grasp rapidly the most intri- cate problems that arise out of his business transactions, and to make up his mind readily, quickly forming an opinion based on sound judgment and accurate knowledge.
While Mr. Chappell's affairs require his attention out of town much of the time, and compel him also to keep an office in New York City, yet he is naturally a man of domestic and social tastes, and is never so well contented as when pleasantly domiciled in his own comfortable home, surrounded by friends and in the company of his accom- plished and agreeable wife. During the long years of his personal and business associations in the village of Oneida he has always been characterized by his public spirit, and has supported with a generous hand all enterprises calculated to promote the physical or moral improvement of his village and county, and has ever in a quiet and unostentatious manner extended the hand of Christian charity to those deserving and in need.
Among the prominent and public-spirited enterprises of Oneida with which Mr. Chap-
pell is still connected are: the O. W. Sage Manufacturing Company, of which he is Vice- President and a Director; the Oneida Valley Bank, of which he is a Director; and the Oneida Savings Bank, of which he is Trustee. He is also interested in the Oneida Carriage Works and the Oneida Chuck Company. He supported liberally and labored earnestly for the Oneida Water Works, and assisted greatly in the establishment of the street railway from the New York Central Railroad to Oneida Castle. He was the first man in the village to put a telephone into his private residence, and the local fire company has always found in him a generous supporter. His progressive spirit is manifested in other than business spheres of activity; and he has ever proved a strong advocate of popular edu- cation, taking an active part in the establish- ment of the Union School system, and being at the present time a Trustee of the Cazenovia Seminary.
Realizing, however, that secular education should be accompanied by moral and religious training in order not to prove a menace to the community, he has been ever among the fore- most in promoting such institutions as have for their object the moral advancement of the community and the spreading of true Chris- tian principles, and is a Trustee of the Coch- ran Memorial Church of Oneida Castle, and superintendent of their Sunday-school. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party; and for some years he took quite an active part in local and State politics, espe- cially during the campaigns of 1884 and 1888, .
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but persistently declines to accept any official honors. Fraternally, he has been for years prominently associated with the Masons, being a member of Doric Chapter, No. 193, R. A. M., of Oneida, of which he was High Priest for several years. He is also a mem- ber of Syracuse Commandery, No. 25, K. T., of Syracuse, N. Y., and of the Consistory of the same place.
Mr. Chappell has been twice married. - first, November 5, 1869, to Miss Emily C. Bridge, who was born at Oneida Castle, N. Y., and was a daughter of J. L. and Cla- rissa Bridge. She died September 4, 1872. Mr. Chappell was again married on the 10th of November, 1884, to Miss Mary Wells, of Oneida Castle, N.Y. In 1886 he built his present beautiful residence, in the best style of modern architecture, at the corner of Eliza- beth and Grove Streets. It is a charming place, with beautiful trees and exquisitely kept lawns, dotted here and there with flower- ing shrubs.
This gentleman's success in his life-work is a striking illustration of what can be ac- complished by wisely directed energy, accom- panied by a progressive spirit. He early commenced to work, and has never been afraid to turn his hand to any enterprise in which he saw success. Throughout his career he has so regulated his conduct toward his fellow- men as to win their respect and esteem; and his many admiring friends in Madison County and elsewhere will view with interest and pleasure the portrait which accompanies this biographical sketch, and faithfully reproduces
the well-known lineaments of this popular, progressive, and useful citizen.
I EORGE W. BAKER, a well-known citizen and a leading agriculturist of the county, was born October 18, 1818, on the farm in Lebanon where he now resides. His father, David Baker, was a native of Westmoreland, Oneida County, N.Y. His grandfather, Solomon Baker, was born, it is thought, in Cambridge, Washington County. His great-grandfather, David Baker, a New England farmer of English ancestry, served in the Revolutionary War, and was in the battle of Bennington. Coming to New York not many years after, he settled in Cambridge, and there spent the remainder of his days, dying when about eighty years of age. His wife was a physician.
A farmer's son, reared to agricultural pur- suits, Solomon Baker pursued his father's calling during his life, going first to the town of Westmoreland, Oneida County, leav- ing that place about 1792, and coming to that part of Herkimer County, as it then was, now included in the town of Lebanon. Securing an extensive tract of land at gov- ernment prices, ranging from one to three dollars per acre, he built a log house; and, clearing the land of its heavy growth of tim- ber, in process of time he had a large farm under good cultivation. He lived to about the age of seventy-five years. The maiden name of his wife was Delany Loucks. She was born in the Mohawk Valley, of Dutch
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parentagc. She rearcd ninc children. A part of the farm of Solomon Baker became the inheritance of his son David, father of the subject of this sketch, who lived on it until about three years before his death, when he sold the place to his son, and bought a home for himself in the village of Lebanon. David Baker married Dolly Batchelor, who was born in Connecticut, and who died in the village of Lebanon. Of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. David Baker, only two, George and Orange W., are now living. Orange W. resides at Grant Park, Kankakee County, Ill.
George W. Baker, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools of his native town. At twenty years of age he began teaching, but, having taught about ten terms of school, turned his attention to agri- culture. After marriage he purchased with his brother the paternal acres, and later bought out his brother's interest in the same. He has since been successfully engaged in general farming, and now owns four hundred acres of well-improved land, one of the best farms in the county. October 14, 1846, he married Hannah Hcad, who was born in Leba- non in 1818. Mrs. Baker's father, Sanford Head, was born in Little Compton, R.I., a son of Joseph Head, a native, it is believed, of the same place, but of English descent. The last-named, a farmer, came to New York in his early years, driving a team. Buying timber land in what is now the town of Madison, hc cleared a farm, and there lived and died. He married Rebecca Sanford, of
Rhode Island, daughter of the captain of a whaler, who lost his life at sea. Mr. and Mrs. Head had six sons, none of whom are living. Mrs. Head spent her last years with a son in Georgetown. Sanford Head was seven years old when he came with his parents to Madison County. His education in the public schools fitted him to become a teacher at the age of about seventeen, in which pro- fession he continued for several years. Hav- ing taught one term after his marriage, he bought land in Lebanon, and from that time on engaged in farming, remaining a resident of this town until his death. He was twice married. His first wife was Sally Ballard, a native of Massachusetts, daughter of Dane and Rebecca (Forbes) Ballard. She died in 1821. His second wife was Anna Ballard, half-sister of his first wife. There were four children by the first wife, and five by the second. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have three children living - Sanford, Seymour, and Sarah. Sanford mar- ried Jennie Dunham, and has five children -- Will, G. Larmon, Harry, Calista, and Max. Seymour married Annie Morgan, and has five children - Clara, Blaine, Katy, Molly, and George.
Mr. Baker cast his first vote for William Henry Harrison. He was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, since which time he has been a firm supporter of its principles. Various offices of public trust have been honorably filled by him, as that of Assessor six years, Justice of the Peace twelve years, Supervisor two years, and School In- spector five years.
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G. BUSH was born in Sangerfield, N. Y., February 10, 1840, son of Lee and Ann M. (Wells) Bush. The family orig- inally came from the State of Connecticut, the grandfather having moved from there to the town of Nelson, Madison County, N. Y., and later to Burlington Flats, N. Y., where the father of our subject was born, going after- ward to North Brookfield, N. Y., where he followed his business of milling. After some years at this vocation, feeling as his age ad- vanced that the work was too heavy, he pur- chased thirty-three acres of the Morgan Dix estate in Sangerfield, and lived there until his death.
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